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Property Tax Appeal: a free way to have your assessment reviewed
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Short answer
Property Tax Appeal is a client benefit that connects you with independent appeal companies for your county. A company reviews your assessment against recent sales and, if it finds a case, files a protest for you. Companies state that they charge nothing up front and take a share only of any savings, so read the terms first. Texas protests are due by May 15 or 30 days after your notice, whichever is later.
What is Property Tax Appeal?
Every year your county appraisal district sends a notice of appraised value, and you have the right to protest it. A protest is easy to skip because the process looks like work. This page introduces independent companies that can do the paperwork for you, or you can protest yourself.
The companies are not part of my brokerage and I do not file your protest. I chose to offer them as a client benefit, and the protest page lists the ones I recommend for your county.
What do I get?
- A short form that starts a review of your property against recent sales and market data.
- If the company finds you may be over-assessed, it prepares the case, files the paperwork with the appraisal district and represents you at the hearing, according to its description.
- No charge to start, and the company states that it is paid only if it lowers your taxes.
- A yearly reminder cycle, since assessments change every year.
- The Property Tax Lookup next door, so you can compare your assessment with nearby homes yourself.
Why did we build it, and who does it help?
Property tax is one of the biggest costs of owning a home in Texas, and it is one you are allowed to contest. I would rather my clients know that than pay a bill they could have questioned.
Homeowners get a low-effort way to have an assessment reviewed. Sellers benefit too, because a lower tax bill can help a home's monthly cost look better to a buyer. Buyers can start the same review the year after they close.
How does it work, and where does the data come from?
You enter your property on the company's form. The company compares it with recent sales and market data using its own methods. Our Property Tax Lookup, built on county tax rolls, is there so you can see nearby assessments for yourself.
Results are never certain, and a protest can end with no change. Deadlines, forms and hearing rules belong to your county appraisal district, so contact it for the current rules. This page is not legal or tax advice.
Sources
- Texas Tax Code protest deadline, May 15 or 30 days after the notice, whichever is later.
- County appraisal district notices and rolls, your county's own office is the source of record.
- The company's own description of its service, read on the tool page, September 25, 2026.
Free with registration
Do I need an account to use it?
Registration is free. This page opens without an account. Signing up with the appeal company is separate from registering with us, and it has its own terms.
Why do we ask you to register?
Some of what we share, like recent sold prices, a home’s sales and listing history, and our home value estimate, comes from or is built on data from the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) MLS. MLS rules let us share that information only with registered visitors. Allen is a REALTOR® licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC), and he follows those rules because he values his license and your trust. Registration is free.
What else do people ask?
- Is this really free?
- Starting a review costs nothing. The company states that it charges only if it lowers your taxes and takes a share of the savings. Read its terms before you agree.
- When is the deadline?
- In Texas a protest is due by May 15 or 30 days after your notice was mailed, whichever is later. Confirm the date with your appraisal district.
- Will my taxes go down?
- No one can promise that. A review can find nothing, and a protest can end with no change.
- Who do I contact about my value?
- Your county appraisal district sets the value, and your county tax assessor-collector sends the bill.
Ask Allen about property tax protests
Have a question about property tax protests? Browse the short answers other buyers and sellers have asked, or send me your own. I read every question myself.
Want the numbers on your own home or the one you are eyeing?
I will walk you through what the data shows and what it cannot. No pressure, and no cost to ask.
Written by Allen Markel, REALTOR®, Texas Premier Realty, TREC #0658294. Last updated September 25, 2026. Next review December 2026.
This page is educational information, not an appraisal, legal, tax or financial advice. Figures come from the sources named above and can change.